Oil feed assembly

ABSTRACT

An oil feed assembly suitable for use in a gas turbine engine having a bearing housing, an outer ring surrounding the bearing housing and a monocase extending therebetween. The assembly provides an oil supply tube for extension within the monocase and between the outer ring and the bearing housing. An oil nozzle support means is employed for selective releasable engagement with one end of the oil supply tube. This is also supported by an oil supply tube support means for selective releasable engagement with a second end of the oil supply tube. A coupling means for coupling said oil supply tube support means and the outer ring completes the assembly.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates generally to an oil feed assembly and, moreparticularly, to an improved oil feed assembly for use in a gas turbineengine which has a reduced number of potential leak areas and which isexpeditiously removed for repair and/or replacement.

BACKGROUND OF THE ART

Typically, in order to provide oil transport in gas turbine engines, anoil transfer tube is employed. In the art it is known that thesearrangements are typically multi-component arrangements and accordinglythere is a high proclivity for leakage of the oil being transported.This has possible deleterious effects on the other components of theengine compartment and can lead to unwanted build-up of oil on certaincomponents.

As a further complication of existing arrangements, the tube itself mayinclude multiple components and is often positioned within the bearinghousing and related components in a position which does not facilitatesimple removal or repair.

Accordingly, there is a need to provide an improved oil feed assemblywhich mitigates the existing limitations in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved oilassembly suitable for use in a gas turbine engine.

In one aspect, the present invention provides an oil feed assembly foruse in a gas turbine engine having a bearing housing, an outer ringsurrounding the bearing housing and a monocase extending therebetween,comprising: an oil supply tube for extension within the monocase andbetween the outer ring and the bearing housing; an oil nozzle supportmeans for selective releasable engagement with one end of the oil supplytube; oil supply tube support means for selective releasable engagementwith a second end of the oil supply tube; and coupling means forcoupling the oil supply tube support means and the outer ring.

In another aspect, the present invention provides an oil feed assemblyin a gas turbine engine having a bearing housing, an outer ringsurrounding the bearing housing and a monocase extending therebetween,comprising: an oil supply tube extending within the monocase and betweenthe outer ring and the bearing housing; an oil nozzle support meansselective releasable engagement with one end of the oil supply tube: oilsupply tube support means selective releasable engagement with a secondend of the oil supply tube; and coupling means for coupling the oilsupply tube support means and the outer ring.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of mountingan oil feed assembly within a gas turbine engine having a bearinghousing, an outer ring surrounding the bearing housing and a monocaseextending therebetween, comprising: providing an oil fee assemblyincluding an oil supply tube, an oil nozzle support means, oil supplytube support means and coupling means; releasably mounting the oilsupply tube support means within the bearing housing; forming an accesspoint within the outer ring to allow passage of the oil supply tube atleast partially there through; releasably mounting the oil supply tubesupport means and the oil supply tube within the access point; andreleasably mounting the coupling means to the mounted oil supply tube atthe housing.

Further details of these and other aspects of the present invention willbe apparent from the detailed description and figures included below.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a partially cut away view of the oil feed assembly aspositioned in situ within the bearing housing and outer ring.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a partially cut away view of the oil feed assembly aspositioned within its environment, namely the bearing housing and outerring of a gas turbine engine.

The overall oil assembly is denoted by numeral 10. Numeral 12 isrepresentative of the outer housing of the gas turbine engine, whereasnumeral 14 is globally representative of the bearing housing. A monocase16 extends between outer ring 12 and bearing housing 14. Thesecomponents are well known in the art and a further description is deemedunnecessary.

In the arrangement, an oil supply tube 18 which is continuous anduninterrupted with respect to fluid flow, extends between ring 12 andbearing housing 14. The oil supply tube 18 is disposed within thebearing housing 14 via the monocase 16 to a point extraneous andexterior of ring housing 12, the point being generally denoted bynumeral 20. Oil supply tube 18 is releasably fixedly secured to an oilsupport member 24. Oil support number 24 is releasably and fixedlysecured within the interior of housing 14 via a post or connectionnumber 26. An opposed end 28 of oil supply tube 18 is connected to anoil supply tube support 30. The tube and 28 may be releasably fixedlysecured to support 30 by welding. A tube coupling member 32 issubsequently connected to support 30 to provide coupling with an oilsupply line (not shown).

By providing the arrangement set forth in the example, the result isessentially a tube point connection system for the oil supply tube fromthe point of coupling to the point of the oil nozzle support. This hassignificant advantage in terms of preventing other possible areas forleakage and further provides for an expedited and straight forwardremoval for repair or replacement of the entire assembly or sectionstherefore. In terms of retro-fit or installation procedures, theindication herein where members are fixedly secured can be achieved bywelding. In order to modify the bearing casing 14, it will be understoodthat the post or connection site 18 can simply be effected by drilling acavity within bearing housing 14 to accommodate a post 26. In order tomount the support 34 to the ring housing 12 may be provided with anaccess area simply by machining or drilling into the ring casing 12 withsubsequent welding at suitable locations to effect securement.

The above description is meant to be exemplary only, and one skilled inthe art will recognize that changes may be made to the embodimentsdescribed without department from the scope of the invention disclosed.Still other modifications which fall within the scope of the presentinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, in light of areview of this disclosure, and such modifications are intended to fallwithin the appended claims.

1. An oil feed assembly for use in a gas turbine engine having a bearinghousing, an outer ring surrounding said bearing housing and a monocaseextending therebetween, comprising: an oil supply tube for extensionwithin said monocase and between said outer ring and said bearinghousing; an oil nozzle support means for selective releasable engagementwith one end of said oil supply tube; oil supply tube support means forselective releasable engagement with a second end of said oil supplytube; and coupling means for coupling said oil supply tube support meansand said outer ring.
 2. The oil feed assembly as defined in claim 1,wherein said oil supply tube is a unitary and continuous member fromsaid oil nozzle support means to said oil supply tube support means. 3.An oil feed assembly in a gas turbine engine having a bearing housing,an outer ring surrounding said bearing housing and a monocase extendingtherebetween, comprising: an oil supply tube extending within saidmonocase and between said outer ring and said bearing housing; an oilnozzle support means selective releasable engagement with one end ofsaid oil supply tube; oil supply tube support means selective releasableengagement with a second end of said oil supply tube; and coupling meansfor coupling said oil supply tube support means and said outer ring. 4.The oil feed assembly as defined in claim 3, wherein said coupling meansis fixedly secured to said outer ring.
 5. The oil feed assembly asdefined in claim 4, wherein said coupling means is welded to said outerring.
 6. The oil feed assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein said oilnozzle support means is welded to said bearing housing.
 7. The oil feedassembly as defined in claim 6, wherein said oil nozzle support meansincludes a mounting post for connection within said bearing housing. 8.A method of mounting an oil feed assembly within a gas turbine enginehaving a bearing housing, an outer ring surrounding said bearing housingand a monocase extending therebetween, comprising: providing an oil feedassembly including an oil supply tube, an oil nozzle support means, oilsupply tube support means and coupling means; releasably mounting saidoil supply tube support means within said bearing housing; forming anaccess point within said outer ring to allow passage of said oil supplytube at least partially there through; releasably mounting said oilsupply tube support means and said oil supply tube within said accesspoint; and releasably mounting said coupling means to the mounted oilsupply tube at said housing.
 9. The method as defined in claim 8,wherein releasably mounted means are welded.
 10. The method as definedin claim 8, wherein releasably mounted means are welded.
 11. The methodas defined in claim 8, wherein said assembly is removable.
 12. Themethod as defined in claim 8, wherein forming an access point withinsaid outer ring comprises machining an aperture within said outer ring.13. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein releasably mounting saidoil supply tube support means within said bearing housing comprisesmachining a post within said bearing housing and welding.
 14. The methodas defined in claim 8, further including the step of cycling oil throughsaid assembly.